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Conklin's on cloud nine

Ty feels terrific -- There's only one better feeling in this world than helping your team record back-to-back wins: watching the birth of your child in between.

That's the stretch Ty Conklin has experienced since Friday, when the Detroit Red Wings' netminder made 25 saves in a 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers. On Saturday, Conklin's wife, Erika, welcomed the couple's third child, Nash.

On Monday night in Detroit, Conklin recorded the fifth shutout of his career as he stopped all 21 shots he faced in a 4-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers.

"Got a win Friday. Got to see my wife and the baby, and now the shutout. Been a good three days," Conklin said.

Indeed it has. As usual, the team in front of him was dominant from the get-go, as the Wings -- who have won five of their last six -- outshot the Oilers 16-9 in the opening period. Johan Franzen scored, giving him 37 goals in his last 44 games dating back to last season. He has scored in each of the last four games after missing five contests with a knee injury.

"I got a good start coming back from injury," Franzen said. "I've been scoring every game. That helps the legs feel lighter because I'm not 100 percent yet skating wise."
Knight Ryder -- This was the Michael Ryder the Boston Bruins were hoping for when they signed him as a free agent July 1.

The talented winger made a tremendous move to avoid Pavel Kubina and then ripped a shot past Vesa Toskala at 14:11 of the second period for what proved to be the game-winning goal in Monday night's 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.

"That's the type of goal that we've seen Michael Ryder score many times," said Boston coach Claude Julien, who has coached Ryder on four different teams.

Ryder appears to be more comfortable in Boston after signing a three-year deal on the opening day of free agency. However, Monday's goal was just his third of the season.

"We all know that he can score goals," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said of Ryder. "He needs to just find that zone where he's going to really be playing with a lot of confidence. It's good that he scored tonight. Anytime that you see a guy that's supposed to score goals score one, it's good for the team."

While he may still be in the adjustment process after four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Ryder has no regrets about his move to Boston.

"I think it's a good fit," he said.
Three in a row -- Don't look now, but the New York Islanders are on a roll.

Joey MacDonald won a goaltending duel with Roberto Luongo on Monday night at the Nassau Coliseum, as he stopped all three shots in the shootout while Frans Nielsen scored in Round 1 for the Isles in a 2-1 victory at Nassau Coliseum.

With Rick DiPietro expected to be out a few more weeks following knee surgery, MacDonald has become the Isles' No. 1 man between the pipes. With Monday's win, he improved to 7-6-2 in DiPietro's place.

"When the game is on the line … that's what you want your goalie to do -- make those big saves," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. "Just like the other guy in their net had some pretty big saves on us."

Indeed he did, as Luongo began Vancouver's four-game road trip with his 13th straight start and 17th in 18 games. Not even Doc Emrick is asked to work that much.

The Islanders kept their former goaltender busy, as they outshot the Canucks 10-0 early in the second and 18-10 overall in that period. Luongo, who allowed just six goals on a recent six-game homestand, finished with 34 saves.

"All losses are tough," Luongo said. "Shootouts are great when you win, and (not) when you lose. I don't like losing any game."

Neither does MacDonald, who ended the game by poke-checking Alex Burrows' chance in Round 3 of the shootout. MacDonald and the Isles will look to make it four in a row Friday night, when they visit the New Jersey Devils.

"You don't want to give up too many goals against a guy like that," MacDonald said of Luongo. "We found a way to get two points, and that's the main thing."

Monday Night Raw -- The score indicated a blowout, but the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators duked it out for 60 minutes at the Sommet Center on Monday night.
Literally.

''I think it was perfect,'' Nichol said. ''I think we could have had a few more. That's just the way it is when you grind it out and battle for every inch of the ice.

''Sometimes the inch isn't there so you want to try to go through the other guy. It is a physical sport. Sometimes things like this happen. We are all going to stand up for each other.''

There was one drawback, though. Nashville's Jason Arnott collided with San Jose's Joe Pavelski and crashed into the net while chasing a loose puck.

Arnott was pushed headfirst into Sharks goalie Brian Boucher and was carried off after lying motionless on the ice for several minutes. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Fortunately, it appears the veteran forward is OK and he may be able to play Friday night, when Nashville visits the Tampa Bay Lightning.

''Arnott is going to be fine,'' Predators coach Barry Trotz said. ''He was released from the hospital and came back to the arena to change clothes before going home. It looks like it is just a neck strain.''

Trotz also had no bad feelings for Pavelski for the latter's part in the collision.

''It was a bang-bang play,'' Trotz said. ''Arnott was driving the net at a 45-degree angle. Pavelski was going in a straight line. He was reaching a little. He tried to grab Arnott's arm and tried to push and spin him away. There was a lot of impact.''

"I like the challenge of facing the best players on the other team. I get nervous because you play such a big part and you want to win so badly. You need to have a lot of patience and confidence. Right now, I have both." -- Henrik Lundqvist

Lundqvist made 27 saves through overtime, then denied all three shooters in the shootout as the Blueshirts earned a 2-1 win at Madison Square Garden. The former seventh-round pick denied Jason Spezza, Jarkko Ruutu and Antoine Vermette for his League-leading 12th win of the season.

"I like the challenge of facing the best players on the other team," Lundqvist said. "I get nervous because you play such a big part and you want to win so badly. You need to have a lot of patience and confidence. Right now, I have both."

Memo to the other 29 teams in the NHL: Don't bother going to a shootout against the Rangers. Lundqvist has allowed only one goal on 12 shots in the breakaway competition this season.

"You never take anything for granted, but it sure is good to know he is spot-on good when it comes to that part of the game," Rangers coach Tom Renney said.